Damn, this is a sad way to start a Wednesday morning. Elizabeth Taylor has passed away at the age of 79. She died this morning, in LA, and the statement given to ABC News says that she was surrounded by her four children. She was a three time Oscar winner – she won Best Actress Oscars for Butterfield 8 and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and she also received an honorary Oscar for her humanitarian work. Go to IMDB and check out her filmography – she made some really, really good movies, and she was a much better actress than most people gave her credit for. Beyond her filmography, Elizabeth was known for many, many marriages, especially to Mike Todd and Richard Burton. She was also on the forefront of the campaign against HIV/AIDS, and she was one of the first Hollywood stars to raise money for AIDS research. Even in her passing, she asks people to donate to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in lieu of flowers.

Oscar winning actress Elizabeth Taylor died today at Los Angeles, Calif.’s Cedars-Sinai Hospital. She was 79-years-old.

“She was surrounded by her children: Michael Wilding, Christopher Wilding, Liza Todd, and Maria Burton,” Taylor’s publicist, Sally Morrison, said in a statement.

“My Mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love,” Michael Wilding said in a statement. “Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world. Her remarkable body of work in film, her ongoing success as a businesswoman, and her brave and relentless advocacy in the fight against HIV/AIDS, all make us all incredibly proud of what she accomplished. We know, quite simply, that the world is a better place for Mom having lived in it. Her legacy will never fade, her spirit will always be with us, and her love will live forever in our hearts.”

In addition to her children, Taylor is survived by 10 grand children and four great grandchildren. Morrison said that a private family funeral will be held later this week. In lieu of flowers, the family asked that contributions be made to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and said that those wanting to send personal messages can log on to Taylor’s official Facebook page.

Taylor, a two-time Academy Award-winning actress who in later life became notorious for her seven marriages and sometimes eccentric behavior, had reported health problems in recent years and appeared frail in public appearances. Six weeks ago, she was hospitalized with congestive heart failure. Though she had recently suffered a number of complications, her condition had stabilized and it was hoped that she would be able to return home.

Taylor reported in October 2009 that she was having a heart procedure done. Via Twitter, she said it was “very new and involves repairing my leaky valve using a clip device, without open heart surgery so that my heart will function better.”

The actress’ past health setbacks included a fall from a horse during one of her early film shoots, bouts with pneumonia and skin cancer, a tracheotomy, treatment for alcohol and painkiller addictions, and lung, hip, brain and heart surgeries. She has had anywhere from 30 to 40 surgeries, according to biographers.

[From ABC News]

Over Christmas, I read Furious Love, which is the amazing story of the romance of Elizabeth and Richard Burton, from their early courtship on the set of Cleopatra (while both were married), to the last letter Burton wrote to Elizabeth, the night that he died. I think in Elizabeth’s mind, she never stopped loving Richard or tending to her memories of him, and I hope they are together today, somewhere. Maybe having a drink with Mike Todd in heaven.

Photos courtesy of WENN.